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Friday, September 16, 2011

The crepe myrtles are still blooming as the weather has signaled its intent to change. I awakened cold this morning. I had intended to turn on the heater for the morning period when temperatures were predicted to be in the high 40's, and I forgot. It feels chilly outside, but it's not cold enough inside to turn on the heat. Glad I forgot.

This was quite a week - for many reasons. I received a lot of new beauty products, many of which I haven't had time to show you. I'll get to them. I also spent a lot of time arranging to go out and rescue wildlife tomorrow. It's a long story, but I've been doing land preservation work for many years. Our land trust has a conservation easement on a major stream valley in McLean, Virginia. The land abutting our easement is about the be developed, and there are box turtles, snakes, salamanders, squirrels, deer - just about all the critters who live in the woods - on the building lots. We need to move those who can't escape the bulldozers.

I spent a full day arranging for help, and the wildlife rescue and plant rescue volunteers in our area responded. I'm pleased to tell you that on Saturday, a bunch of us will be trudging though the woods and thick understory growth saving everything we can find, including rare wildflowers or seeds. I can't stand the thought of turtles, who have been there longer than man, being bulldozed to death. If we find active squirrel nests, we'll get someone to climb the trees and save any babies sure to be orphaned and killed.

Later today, I have one of those superb Kate Somerville Dermal Quench treatments scheduled at Neiman Marcus Tysons Galleria. If you don't know about the miracle treatments, click on this link. I'm excited. If you happen to live in our area, call the store to see if you can get an appointment today.

It's time for The Friday Forum, our open chat. What new products did you discover this week? Did you find any deals you couldn't resist this week? Are you using a fabulous product and want to sing its praises? Did you find a beauty product disappointing? Do you have a question others might be able to answer? Want to talk about skin care? What's new in your life? Just use the comments. Don't be shy. Just make sure to ask any question you might have over the weekend. By early the next week, most (not all) readers have moved on.

Don't forget that we have two fabulous giveaway contests running, and both end this weekend. First, the Le Métier de Beauté contest for a brand new Revive Eye Concentrate ends Sunday, September 18. All you have to do to enter is purchase Le Métier de Beauté at Neiman Marcus Beauty Week by Sunday, September 18 - online or in store - and then comment. Make sure to save your receipt. Check out the fine print at this link.

The second contest is our weekly giveaway contest. This week, you might win the NARS Hopelessly Devoted Gift Set giveaway. The deadline for entries is tomorrow, September 17, at midnight. It's worth a try, right?

All things environmental and ecological are close to my heart. I, too, have a passion for preserving wildlife and their habitats. Sorry that this particular land is slated for development. Good luck with the relocation of the dear animals!

Charlestongirl, you are an angel to be helping out those animals! I hope the weather remains stable for you!

Newest discovery would be Bottega Veneta fragrance, something that finally fits the bill. Otherwise, no new discoveries, just enjoying what I have--with the weather changing (along with my skin) best to not indulge in anything new. I'm looking forward to your new reviews!

Go Charlestongirl! Land trusts do some wonderful work preserving our wild open spaces, and I too am sorry to hear that a vibrant habitat may be developed in such a way that the development evicts the animals.

I applaud your efforts to save the animals; I have 3 acres and we now are surrounded by subdivisions and the animals have not where to go. But if I saw a snake he would have to kindly get himself in a cage, because snakes give me a serious case of "heebeegeebees"!

Let me chime in and agree with everyone else: how wonderful of you to organize this event! It makes me want to find some similar cause to volunteer with in my own city.

I did have a beauty question - or more of a situation - I wanted to ask. For the first time ever, I attended a makeup masterclass with a Smashbox artist and though I felt honored their SA asked me to attend, I really did not enjoy it.

I thought they were a bit snobby, saying that this was an "exclusive" event when really anybody who paid the fee could attend; I ended up with a bright pink and purple eye instead of the neutral work appropriate eye I wanted; and felt pressured to buy a foundation that I had actually tried before and gave me a bad case of clogged pores. In fact, all I really needed makeup-wise was a compact foundation (powder or cream) - but instead of being honest and telling me they didn't have a product like that, the artist tried to sell me a compact finishing powder. I was so upset!

So I didn't purchase anything and instead of perusing the Smashbox counter after the class like everybody else, I headed straight for the Chanel counter - in plain view of the Smashbox SA, which did make me feel bad. But Chanel has Teint Innocence, a compact cream foundation. This was last evening and I woke up still thinking about it so called the Nordstrom to share my feelings.

But I still can't help but feel that I was maybe rude. Do you have any thoughts? Do makeup SAs or MAs ever make you feel uncomfortable? What do you tell them? Thanks!

You paid to go to it? Did you get a credit toward a purchase with your payment? I will not attend fee events unless I get the amount back with a purchase.

I think that the behavior of the sales people and artists sounds unacceptable. I've had plenty of bad makeup appplications, and I chalk them up to wasted time and a lesson learned. It sounds like you got the hard sell, no doubt because they had a dollar goal for their event. So you became a pawn in their goal attainment.

You weren't rude at all. If they couldn't show you something you liked and wanted, you had every right to walk. It's good that you told Nordstrom. That's where I've found sales associates to be overly aggressive lately.

Charlestongirl, thanks for the support - especially after what must have been a very long day of wildlife rescue. I hope you were succesful. Lol, I realize that was a bit of a rant but I honestly don't know what it is about beauty SAs and counters that can at times make women - or at least this woman - feel so awkward and insecure when all you want is to feel pretty and confident. And I hate feeling awkward and insecure.

Yes, the fee was supposed to go towards a purchase but after my makeup session there was literally nothing I wanted. I also thought the "class" was a joke. I need to check my statement to see if they charged me anything at all after I called them.

I told my husband all this and his very confused reaction was to never buy makeup from Nordstrom again, which might be unfeasible. But I'm glad I'm not the only one noticing their overly aggressive tactics of late. Also, my Chanel is lovely. :)

To all, I can barely move. I'm not used to walking as much as we did today...through deep woods. We were able to relocate a few toads and a frog. We also dug up many rare plants to move them to safety.

About Me

Charlestongirl, a Virginia baby boomer, has a successful left-brain
business career, but her heart belongs to her right brain, which loves
the beauty industry, antiques, jewelry, gardens, and the finer things in
life. She loves sharing her extensive (and expensive) experience with
beauty products with others and hopes she can help you choose products
that are worth the splurge.
For more than you ever wanted to know, please click on the About
Charlestongirl page at the blog header.